Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young (formerly Angela Forrest) is the omniscient narrator of Desperate Housewives, as well as one of its titular characters and occasional protagonists. A warm, seemingly happy suburban housewife, Mary Alice broke the thin layer of perfection covering Wisteria Lane the day she put a gun to her head and shot herself. From the on, and from her elevated state of point of view, Mary Alice has been waxing poetic on the not-so-perfect lives of all of her friends, neighbors and family members, as well as other residents of Wisteria Lane. No one there is safe from Mary Alice's insightful observations and intimate knowledge. Mary Alice's sudden death inspires her circle of best friends to try and figure out the secrets she was keeping that constituted reasons for her suicide, which triggered the events of the series. Meanwhile, Mary Alice serves as the narrator and commenter for their lives, sharing with us all the juicy tidbits. Some secrets need to be told, and nobody dishes the dirt in a more comforting, neighborly way than Mary Alice Young. 'Season 8' Following the manslaughter of Alejandro Perez, perpetrated by Carlos, the women find themselves co-conspirators in a murder cover-up. Shortly after the burial of the cadaver, the women and Carlos are all overcome with guilt and fear, as they try to carry on with their lives. A month later, they're still desperate, and Bree tries her best to hide the crime from her detective boyfriend, Chuck Vance, and to help her friends deal with their sorrow. Once they all reach an understanding that they will never be able to truly move on or to even tell anyone, a small wave of relief still manages to surface, but the wave is splashed to inexistence when Bree opens up her mailbox one night to find a letter sent by an anonymous individual... with the exact same message Mary Alice got before she committed suicide. Bree's world falls apart at the sight of the iconic phrases that drove her best friend to death. ("Secrets That I Never Want to Know") Following this harrowing discovery, Mary Alice informs us that she and her friend Bree had always led similar lives, striving to uphold a perfect façade that would help conceal a dark interior, filled with secrets and regrets. The newly received letter proved to be the cherry on top of the cake in that comparison game, as Bree's life was turning more and more uncannily like Mary Alice's, and thus she was now filled with a horrifying fear that it might one day end the same way as well. In a flashback, Mary Alice is shown receiving the letter, and then contemplating telling the girls about her deepest, darkest secret. However, she decides against it, so as to not burden them. Later, she's seen loading up the barrel of her gun, about to use it for the first time. In the present, Bree tries to keep the letter from her boyfriend, and only tells of it to her friend Gabrielle, who agrees with Bree that Susan, Lynette and Carlos shouldn't be told of it, as to not add to their list of worries. In prison, Bree conferes with Paul Young, trying to know if he's behind the sending of the note, which upsets him a lot, considering how that same message contributed to the ruining of his life. Paul then advises Bree to share her note with the girls, because he can't help but wonder how different things would had turned out had Mary Alice shared hers with them. ("Making the Connection") Some time later, after Bree and Chuck have broken up and the latter has grown suspicious that the women are all involved in a murder cover-up, Bree's life spirals out of control as she gives in to despair, losing all grip. She checks into a motel, staying in the same room where she used to consort with Karl Mayer, and brings with her a bottle of chardonnay (having fallen back into old habits) and a gun. After she puts them both down on the room's table, an inebriated Bree has a brief chat with none other than Mary Alice, who has appeared before her. Bree asks her if she remembers how wonderful life was on the lane; Mary Alice slightly nods. Bree smiles as she remembers her perfect life, doctor husband, two beautiful children and amazing friends. She begins to cry and asks what happened to her life, so the vision of Mary Alice says “Things change, Bree”. Bree tells Mary Alice that she’s so unhappy, and after a moment of silence, she asks if Mary Alice is happy now. After a moment of thinking, Mary Alice says “I'm not unhappy”. With that, the vision fades away and Bree is left alone, confused and distressed. She then picks up the gun with both her hands as she begins to contemplate suicide. ("Putting It Together") However, shortly afterwards, Renee Perry shows up, having assumed that Bree was sleeping with her boyfriend, Ben Faulkner, and prevents her from killing herself. Following this, Renee moves in with Bree temporarily, to keep her from attempting suicide again, and eventually lets out that her mother killed herself as well. During the funeral of Chuck Vance, who'd been run over by an unknown assailant in a hit-and-run situation, Renee finally opens up some more about her mother's suicide, and Bree is then silent for a while longer, and then says "Many years ago, a neighbor and a good friend of ours... took her life. And that lefts us all heartbroken and perplexed. But somehow, when I was alone in that hotel room... I forgot about all the pain she caused." Renee is still trying to keep from crying, and Bree adds, "In those awful moments, I thought maybe she had the answer."; Bree then turns back to Renee and says, "But then you showed up. Thank God." Renee faces her as well, and Bree continues: "You will always be the person who saved my life. And now that I've had time to think about it, I realize that makes you the best friend I'll ever have." They both exchange emotional smiles, and then Bree puts her hand on Renee's, as they turn to the front to witness the memorial. At the end of the episode, Bree receives something Mary Alice never did: a second blackmail letter, which reads "You're welcome", presumably alluding to the murder of Chuck. ("What's to Discuss, Old Friend?") Later, after Orson Hodge, Bree's second husband, comes to her rescue after she manages to make an even bigger mess out of her life by succumbing to alcohol and by engaging in sexual affairs with indiscriminate men, it is revealed that he was indeed the one behind the letters and the murder of Chuck, as part of a major plan to make Bree miserable and lonely so that he could sweep in and play the part of the hero who turned her life around. Orson had witnessed the major events related to the murder of Alejandro, and thus sent Bree the note that drove her best friend to suicide, knowing the effect it'd have on her, and later killed Chuck when he vowed to ruin Bree's life, sending her a second letter afterwards. ("Get Out of My Life"/"She Needs Me") Some time later, Mary Alice tells us that it's a shame how people on Wisteria Lane take each other for granted, because in a matter of days one of its residents will be dead. A few days later, Mike Delfino is shot and killed by a loan shark. ("You Take for Granted") Following this senseless tragedy, Mary Alice teaches us that, no matter how much death takes from us, it also gives, by enabling us to realize what really matters in life. ("Women and Death") Notes *Mary Alice Young typically serves as the narrator of the series, except for two episodes: "My Husband, the Pig" (3.16), which is narrated by Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp) and is more male-oriented; and "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" (5.19), which is narrated by Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), and centers around that character. Considering that Mary Alice provided original narration for the "Previously on..." segment of 3.16, but no such segment was featured in 5.19, the character only actually has one absence over the course of the entire series. *Despite her record of appearances over the course of the show as a narrator, Mary Alice has only actually been physically seen, on-screen, in a total of 17 episodes: "Pilot", "Pretty Little Picture", "Guilty", "The Ladies Who Lunch", "One Wonderful Day" (season 1); "There is No Other Way", "Remember, Part 1", "Remember, Part 2" (season 2); "Bang" (season 3); "Smiles of a Summer Night", "Free" (season 4); "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened" (season 5); "Epiphany" (season 6); "Remember Paul?" (season 7); "Making the Connection", "Putting It Together" and "Finishing the Hat" (season 8). **The character was originally meant to be physically seen in "Not While I'm Around" (season 3) but her flashback scenes with Gabrielle were cut. Photograph evidence of the scene can be seen here. Behind Closed Doors The character is played by actress Brenda Strong, and narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. Marcia Cross originally auditioned for the role, but was given the part of Bree Van de Kamp instead. In the original pilot episode, she was portrayed by Sheryl Lee. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters' ''Spoon River Anthology. Gallery Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character. Promo 103 16.png Promo 103 17.png Promo 103 18.png Promo 103 21.png Promo 103 37.png Promo 620 03.png Promo 620 04.png Trivia *Mary Alice and Edie's relationship has never been explored in flashbacks, and neither have ever been seen together in any sort of backstory. However, Edie referred to Mary Alice as her "friend" in "Back in Business". *All the members of the original Young family have killed someone: Mary Alice killed Deirdre Taylor, Paul killed Martha Huber, and Zach killed his biological grandfather Noah Taylor. de:Mary Alice Young fr:Mary Alice Young Category:Main characters Category:Housewives Category:Deceased characters Category:Murderers Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Season 5 characters Category:Season 6 characters Category:Season 7 characters Category:Season 8 characters Category:Characters in all 8 seasons Category:Medical personnel Category:Mary Alice's family Category:Wisteria Lane residents Category:Narrator characters Category:Desperate Housewives: The Game characters Category:Finale ghosts Category:Suicidal characters